North Coast surfers bow out of the Mr Price Pro

Favourite to win the Mr Price Pro Ballito, Jordy Smith came short of progressing to round three by less than one point in his gut-wrenching heat on Tuesday.

Smith nearly sealed the deal with an awesome 360 aerial, but the score was just short of getting him into second place. Last year Smith clinched second place at the Mr Price Pro Ballito. All nine other South African competitors were also knocked out of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime rated competition on Monday and Tuesday.

Beyrick de Vries, who was tipped to be a main contender at the event, was unlucky to be eliminated in his first heat on Monday.

The Umhlanga surfer made a critical priority error when he took-off on a wave that belonged to his opponent Alejo Muniz. The mistake cost De Vries his second place finish in the heat.

Seventeen-year-old Salt Rock surfer Shane Sykes made his debut into the Mr Price Pro Ballito on Monday.

Sykes earned himself a wild card in the Mr Price Pro after a great performance in the trials on Saturday.

The young surfer was sitting in second place in the heat until about fives minutes before it ended. He ended up finishing third and did not progress into the second round.

“It was amazing experience for me, I hope that it is the first of many,” said an excited but disappointed Sykes.

“I kept waiting for that wave but it never came.”

The young surfer was happy to get the chance to surf alongside some of the world’s top surfers.

“It was cool to know what they do at these competitions and see how they prepare for each heat,” he said.

Sykes is currently hosting New Zealand surfer Ricardo Christie at his house.

Other South Africans who suffered first round defeats included Brandon Jackson, Michael February, Dale Staples, Dylan Lightfoot and Slade Prestwich.

Meanwhile Logie and David van Zyl surfed against each other in their second round heat on Tuesday.

Logie came in fourth and Van Zyl third, marking the end of their participation in the competition.

Looking ahead to the rest of the week, Brazilian surfers seem to be riding the crest of the world cup’s wave.

None more so than Filipe Toledo, who scored an almost perfect wave score in round 2. His 19.83 score was the highest in the tournament so far.

Australia’s Yadin Nicol recorded a 19.10 wave score in his first round heat. He was still to surf in round two at the time of going to print.